Our History

Founded in 1992 with just two people, we have now been in business for over 25 years and are continuing to grow and expand! The core of our business is to build long-standing relationships and find relevant solutions for our customers.

We are proud of our Cumbrian roots and how far we have come. Did you know our first logo was created in the pub? We drew around a 10p piece (to represent the O) and added a line underneath – for On-Line, get it? Our branding has changed since then but our concept remains the same – a local, personable business with big opportunities and ideas.

1996

1997

1998

The World Wide Web is born, marking the beginning of the Internet as we know it today. Most Americans get Internet connections through their phone lines.

1998

Online first Website.
Greg, our MD, joins
the business as a
trainee salesman.

1998

The Nokia 6110 was launched! It was the first phone to feature Nokia’s famous Snake game and included advanced features for those using the phone for business. The phone sold over 100 million handsets and you could still use the phone today (if you wanted!).

1999

BlackBerry released its first two-way pager
the BlackBerry 850 in 1999, which supported
email and web browsing.

2000

We relocate to our new
offices at Kingstown Ind Est.

2000

The “Web Phone” combines a traditional telephone with an LCD touch-screen
and a retractable keyboard to let customers surf the Internet, check e-mail,
make phone calls and check voice mail from a single device.

2002

Online teams up with
Avaya and starts selling
the IPO range.

New Text
Message
Received

2006

Online launches a new
mobile division originally
reselling Vodafone
and Orange.

2006

Samsung Launch the Officeserv range of Telephone Systems.

2007

The BlackBerry Curve
8300 went on sale
in 2007, the same
year Apple introduced
the very first iPhone.
The 8300 was designed
to reach both the
consumer and business
markets.

2008

BT announced their plans to deploy
superfast broadband reaching homes
and businesses alike.

2009

Online launches a new data division providing
leased circuits and MPLS to business.

2010

The Samsung Galaxy S brand was introduced
in 2010 with the Samsung Galaxy S. It was
considered a global success, selling 24
million smartphones across the world.

2011

Launch of our Wholesale
Mobile Tariffs.

2012

EE was the first mobile provider to
launch 4G across 11 cities in the UK,
promising speeds of up to 8-12 Mbps,
up to five times faster than 3G.

2014

Online becomes a
Mobile Virtual
Network Operator.

2016

Launch of our own
Branded Sim Card.

2016

82% of adults access the daily
and ¾ have a smartphone so they
can get online on the go.

2016

Greg completes a Management Buy
Out and takes over as Managing
Director of Online Systems.